Why should we embed behavior change models in digital therapeutics

In this interview, we speak with Kristina Curtis (Applied Behaviour Change; London, UK) about the importance of embedding behavior change models and participatory approaches into the development process of digital therapeutics. Kristina provides her insight into the most successful use cases of a digital behavior change interventions and how this field will evolve in the next 5 years.

What are digital behavior change interventions?

Digital health interventions refer to the use of digital technologies, such as mobile apps, wearable devices, online platforms, and other digital tools to support and improve healthcare delivery, health monitoring, disease prevention and health prevention. These interventions leverage the power of technology to deliver healthcare and public health services remotely, enhance patient engagement, provide personalized information and care and of course, facilitate behavior change!

Why is it important to embed behavior change models and participatory approaches into the development process of digital therapeutics?

There are a number of reasons why we should embed digital therapeutics with behavior change models. Firstly, evidence shows that digital interventions underpinned with behavior change theories and models lead to more effective outcomes. Secondly, theories and models allow us to develop behavior change content that addresses the proposed influences on behaviors. However, underpinning a digital therapeutic with theory and evidence is not enough on its own. The intervention must engage end-users to want to use it and keep using it. This is why participatory approaches become so crucial. They allow us to ‘co-design’ the intervention with end-users to ensure that the features really resonate with their needs and preferences. During my PhD, I became one of the trailblazers of the ‘Behavioral Design Thinking’ approach, which combines behavioral science with design thinking. Over a decade later, this is finally becoming best practice in the design of behavior change interventions. Consequently, I recently joined the Label2Enable quality standard for health and well-being apps as a core expert in participatory and co-design approaches.

In your opinion, what is one of the most successful use cases of a digital behavior change intervention?

This is a tough question as there are many high-quality digital behaviour change interventions. However, one that springs to mind is ‘PuzzleWalk” a theory driven mobile game aimed at increasing physical activity in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This has been designed by a multi-disciplinary team of experts in computer engineering, AI, psychology, kinesiology and informatics. They used a ‘behavioral design thinking approach’ whereby they developed the game using four user-centered design phases with ASD experts and adults with ASD. They also underpinned the game with evidence-based behavior change and gamification techniques.

How do you expect this field to evolve within the next 5 years?

There is strong evidence to suggest that tailoring digital health interventions will help to increase end-users’ engagement with them, which is a prerequisite to effectively changing behaviors. Therefore, I expect that tools such as AI and machine learning (ML) will continue to advance in this field so that from an end-user point of view, interventions are more personalized to their needs and preferences. For healthcare professionals, the integration of AI and ML will continue to evolve in analyzing large amounts of data, identifying patterns and providing valuable insights and assistance in areas such as diagnostics. From a behavior change perspective, this increasing sophistication in personalization along with leveraging behavioral science, will lead to greater support in adopting and sustaining healthy behaviors. The more widely used digital health interventions become, the more chance we have in really understanding human behaviors and refining our human behavior change models and theories. Digital technology holds the key to unlocking what really works in behavior change, from which behavior change techniques work for whom and which behaviors, and how we deliver these in the most engaging ways.

Interviewee profile:

I am Dr Kristina Curtis and I have a background in Health Psychology and Human-Centered Design with over a decade of experience in developing digital behavior change interventions, specifically within the area of health prevention. My PhD research, at the Institute of Digital Healthcare in the University of Warwick (UK), pioneered the application of a popular behavioral science framework and model known as the ‘Behaviour Change Wheel’ and the ‘COM-B model’ to the digital sphere . After completing my PhD, I worked in a joint-role in academia and public health where I was instrumental in increasing the value and uptake of behavioral science practices in public health services across the nation through research , conferences and training. Since then, I have co-founded a boutique behavioral science consultancy called Applied Behaviour Change (London, UK), specializing in the development and evaluation of digital health interventions. Our purpose is to help people live healthier and happier lives. We do this through helping organizations who share this mission to apply behavior change evidence in an agile way to their digital services and/or products. I am also an Honorary Lecturer and Associate for UCL’s Centre for Behaviour Change (London, UK) where I deliver regular teaching and PhD supervision. Disclaimers:The opinions expressed in this feature are those of the interviewee/author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Future Medicine AI Hub or Future Science Group.